The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-06-24
ach one looks worse than the last

ton. Hans In his heart thought he spelled u
wrong, but he did not dare to aay 20. Then
came another pause, only interrupted by the
slow scratching OF . quill across the dirty
paper, during which Hans nearly went to
sleep; for the weather was very hot, and he
was tired with his ride.
"Therel" said the writer, presently, gazing
at bis handwriting with an almost childish air
Of satisfaction, 'that q done. A curse on the
man who invented writingl Our fathers did
very well without II; Why should not wei
Though, to he cure, u 4 useful for treaties
with the Kaffirs don't believe YOU have
told me right now about that 'excepency, >
nephew. Well, 1t will have to serve. When
man writes such letter az that to the rep
resentative Of the English queen he needn't
mind his spelling; II will be swallowed with
the rest" and he leaned back IN his chair and
laughed softly.
swell, Meinheer Coetsse, what Is II, All.
know; the prisoners. Well, what did you
dor .'i
Hans told his story, and was rambling on
when the general cut him short
"So cousin, go! You talk like an OK wagon
rumble and creak and jolt, devil Of q
noise and turning of wheels, but very little
progress. They will give up the twelve men
for our four, win theyi Well, that Is about
. fair proportion. No, 1t Is not. though; four
Beers are better than twelve Englishmen any
day-ay, better than fortyl" and he laughed
again. "Well, the men shall be sent in a.
you arranged; they will help to eat up their
last biscuits. Good day, cousin. Stop.
though; one word before you 60. have
heard about you at times, cousin. have
heard 1t said that you cannot be trusted.
Now, I don't know IL that Il 10. l don't
believe 1t myself. Only, listen; II It should
b 90, and ! should find you out, by Godi
! will have you cut into rimpis with
afterox sjambocks, and then shoot you and
send in your carcass a. present to the Eng
lish," and as be said it he leaned forward and
brought down his fist upon the deal table
with bang that produced most unpleasant
effect upon poor Hans nerves, and a cold
CLEAN Of sudden ferocity fickered in the
small eyes, very discomforting for timid
man to behold, however innocent he knew
himself to be.
II swear he began to babble.
"Swear not at all, cousin; you are an elder
Of the church. There is no need to, besides. 1
told you did not believe it Of you; only I
have had one or two cases Of this sort of thing
lately. No, never mind who they were You
will not meet them about again. Good day,
cousin, good day. Forget not to thank the
Almighty God for our glorious victories. He
will expect it from an elder of the church."
Poor Hans departed crestfallen, feeling
that the days of him who tries. however skill
fully and impartially, to sit upon two stools
at once are not happy days, and sometimes
threaten to be short ones. And supposing
hiatt ho Euc1ich,,,o,, c1,D
in his heart he hoped they might-how should
he then prove that he had hoped til The
general watched him waddle through the
door from under his pent brows, a half
humorous, half menacing expression on his
face. .. XXI.
IA windbag; coward; a man without q
heart for good or for evil. Bah! nephew, that
is Hans Coetzee. have known him for years.
Well, let him 60. He would sell us if he
could, but l have frightened him now, and,
what is more, if see reason, he shall find l
never bark unless mean to bite. Well,
you yet for your share in Majuba! All! that
was glorious victory! How many were
there Of you when you started up the noun
tain2" ~
"And how many at the end?" I
"One hundred and seventy-perhaps few
more"
"And how many of you were hits"
"Three-one killed, two wounded, and a
few scratched"
"Wonderful, wonderful! It was brave
deed, and because it was so brave it was sue
cessful. He must have been mad, that Eng
lish general. Who shot him!"
"Breytenbach Colley held up white
handkerchief in his hand, and Breytenbach
fired, and down went the general all Of
heap, and then they all ran heller SHELTER down
the hill. Yes, it was a wonderful thingl
They could have beat us back with their left
hand. That is what comes of having right
eous cause, uncle"
The general smiled grimly. "That is what
comes of having men who can shoot, and who
understand the country, and are not afraid.
Well, it is done, and well done. The stars in
their courses have fought for us, Frank Null
Ter, and SO far we have conquered. But how
is it to end! You are no fool: tell me, how
will it end!"
Frank Muller rose and walked twice up and
down the room before he answered. "Shall l
tell you?" he asked, and then, without wait
ing for an answer, went on: ut will end in
our getting the country back. That is what
this armistice means There are thousands
of rooibaatjes there at the Mex; they cannot
therefore be waiting for soldiers They are
waiting for an opportunity to yield, uncle.
We shall get the country back, and you will
be president of the republic"
The old man took q pull at his pipe. "You
have a long head, Frank, and it has not run
away with you. The English government is
going to give in. The stars in their courses
continue to fight for us. The English gov
eminent is as mad as its officers. They will
give in. But it means more than that, Frank;
will tell you what it means 1t means
and again he let his heavy hand fall upon the
deal table-"the triumph Of the Boer through
out South Africa. BAIL Burgers was not
such a fool after all when he talked of his
great Dutch republic. have been twice to
England now, and know the Englisfman.
I could measure him for his veldtschoens
shoes. He knows nothing He
understands his shop, he is buried in his shop,
and can think of nothing else. Sometimes he
goes away and starts his shop in other places,
and buries himself in it, and makes it a big
shop, because he understands shops. But it is
all q question of shops, and if the shops
abroad interfere with the shops at home, or if
it is thought that they do, which comes to the
same thing, then the shops at home put an
>,,d q, tho cbopo abroad Rahi ttov falx n |